Thursday, March 6, 2014

Scouting out Allergy Free Roads ~ Part I: Gluten Free Country Music City

Dreams really do come true. As
far as I can remember as a kid, I loved to travel.

I wanted to be a travel writer
when I grew up. Here I am, 37 years
later, all grown up (well, that’s debatable!) and I'm finally able to share my first
real “travel blog post”. It’s never too late to start, right?

My name is Beth, I’m the Assistant Director of Events
for Gluten & Allergen Free Wellness Events and a certified holistic health
coach and essential oils educator. I
had the good fortune of meeting Nikki Everett a few years ago in Houston, Texas
when I was managing Gluten Free Houston (now Gluten Free Nation). Throughout the years, we have continued to share our mutual love of travel,
helping people and educating people in the area of gluten free lifestyles.

New Day Bakery in St. Louis, MO

What
better way to educate, than to invite people to experience food and wellness
through your own travels? Today I’d like to take you down some gluten & allergy-free
back roads that I had a chance to explore last week throughout Nashville, TN
and St. Louis, MO. The purpose of my trip
was to meet local gluten free vendors, restaurants, companies, wellness
practitioners, etc. and also to find a location for our upcoming GFAF Wellness
Events in both cities.

Find out more about events in Nashville, Sat. April 26th and
St. Louis, Sat. May 31st HERE

The hustle bustle of airport
buzz, wondering where everyone is headed, the roaring of the airplane jet
engines, the thought of adventure and embarking on personal unchartered
territory…. ah, travel. When I’m on the road, I feel at home. My heart & soul comes alive with the anticipation
of discovering new foods, talking to strangers and getting to know the
character of a new town by hitting local watering holes and letting my GPS
(a.k.a. Siri) be my guide.

Downtown Nashville, TN

The first stop on our trip was
Nashville, TN, The Music City. It’s also the state capitol of Tennessee and acenter for the music, health care, publishing, banking
and transportation industries, and home to a large number of colleges and
universities. This was my first time in Nashville, so I was super
excited to don my cowboy boots, hit the ground running and explore the city!

When you only have 48 hours on
the ground and tons of scouting to do, you have to make the most of your time. I searched online for the best of gluten free
Nashville. My first stop being the local Whole Foods Market. I feel that you can get a pretty good pulse of the
health market by going straight to the core of local grocery/health food
stores. It was a beautiful sunny day and I had the pleasure to
meet up here with two leading ladies from the CSA Nashville, Middle TennesseeCeliac Support Group. (Gathering a strong task force
on the ground for these events is a HUGE asset! Thanks to Peggy and LeAnn for meeting with me on this trip!)

To spare y’all with every single work detail, I’ll jump into the mouth-watering and
juicy tidbits of the trip….what you’ve all been waiting for….THE GRUB! Here’s a brief chronicle of my culinary
journey through two major U.S. cities in 5 days.

Monday Dinner: Pinewood Social33 Peabody St. Nashville **We have since found out that Pinewood Social may not cook chicken in separate fryer. We can not recommend it for those who need Gluten Free as a medical necessity and suggest you ask them before ordering**

Talk about a great tip-off from
a local "in-the-know”. Missy from Lululemon Athletica, Green Hills, mentioned
that Pinewood Social offered gluten free fried chicken. Check! I had to see & taste for myself.

As I entered Pinewood Social,
I felt a pleasant slow down in time. A
social gathering place, comfortable and welcoming. Beautiful copper bar. Hipster trendy meets classic vintage.

The bartenders hand-chiseled
ice for their signature libations from a 300 pound block of ice.

The dinner menu was so
extensive, it was hard to decide what to order….first.
Of course I was planning my courses around the ultimate fulfillment of the much
acclaimed fried chicken.

I decided to start with the
fried broccoli. Why not keep everything
fried for good measure, right? The bartender told me
they used dedicated fryers for their gluten free items and they also paid close
attention to “customer’s health concerns and handled each situation
individually with care.” Thumbs up!

The broccoli was not breaded,
just flash-fried to perfection with some lemon zest, sea salt and a delightful
accompaniment of almond, garlic aoili.

Licking my lips, and wondering
if I could get away with licking the bowl and not being too conspicuous, I
eagerly awaited the arrival of my fried chicken. The gluten free fried chicken had a batter made with rice flour and was
every bit as good, no wait, I’d say even BETTER than any non-gluten free fried
chicken I remember tasting in my pre-allergy days. Golden brown, crispy on the outside and bursting with
moist, juicy flavor as you grabbed each piece with your fingers, napkin tucked
into shirt, ready to devour the feast like it was your job! Wait! This IS my
job. I’m one lucky gal. I as I type this now, I can taste the wonderful
flavors again.

Although dessert sounded
tempting, I had to stop at savory. I
give credit to the manager and staff as well, who were very knowledgeable about
dietary needs and requests. They were very
interested in my work and extremely attentive to my questions and investigative
reporting. After a hard-to-beat, first night dinner in Nashville,
it was time to roll myself back to the hotel for the night.

Tuesday morning I was ready to
find a great little coffee shop en route to my appointments.

Coffee. Inspired. I like that. And I did inspiration. This place is a craft roaster, serving only single cup
brews from small estates and small co-operative grown farms. I opted for a cup of hand-poured Panamanian, with a
hint of strawberry essence and a smooth, light finish. They had a small shelf of locally produced gluten free
baked goods and products:

Vegan Vee - Made
from scratch with local & organic products when possible. The Milk Barn - gluten free muffins. Grab The Gold
- An amazing company story by founder/creator, Danielle Ontiveros - what an
incredible and refreshing spirit Danielle is - I had the opportunity to speak
with her while I was in town. She definitely shares
and promotes the high energy, healthy vibe that Nashville is radiating!

Check out her story here: http://grabthegold.com/grab-the-gold-story/

(BTW, Grab the Gold is a
confirmed vendor at the Nashville show on April 26th!)

Moving on from the coffee shop,
I stopped at The Urban Juicer, quite a busy place on 8th Ave. But that was just
a quick pit stop for a cleansing raw juice en route to fill up my belly once
again at the highly recommended and exquisitely inspirational lunch spot - A
Matter of Taste

They make their own bread there
and boy is it delicious! After much thought, I
settled on the Mediterranean Vegetarian - A toasted gluten free sandwich with
eggplant, roasted red pepper, sun dried tomato, freshly made pesto and feta
cheese. Accompanied by a housecaesar salad with, you
guessed it…gluten free croutons! Score! A real complete caesar salad - No subtractions!

At this point, you’re thinking…man, Beth - how many pounds have you gained in just
two days?! Well,fortunately I did manage
to get in a good workout at the hotel each morning and a swim in the pool.

Next to Opryland and close to
my hotel. Notan “advertised gluten free” restaurant, but what I’ve found when you’re traveling andintending
to connect withlike-minded folks, you’re frequently drawn to those people and places by the
forces that be. Caney Fork is known for
the Best Catfishand Best Ribs in
Nashville, in a camp-style, fun setting - there’s even a live catfish pond inside the restaurant. They have a wide selection of wild game which caught
my eye! Theywere veryaccommodating tothe
gluten free diner, in fact, the kitchen manager came out to speak with me and
to ensure that each item I ordered was cooked to my liking.

I decided to try the Wild Boar “Philly” minus the bun. I also askedthe
chef to let me sample one ground Elk patty which was out of this world! Freshly ground elk meat, gently seasoned with some
Cajun spice and alittle dab of local
honey. Words cannot even describe…..

Are you hungry yet?

Wednesday: Last day in Nashville…

Opted for the big lunch prior
to my airport departure to St. Louisthat
afternoon. On Tuesday I had found this great, relatively new
Burger place in downtown Nashville, (Or as they say, “in the Gulch”)
calledBurgerRepublic.“Voted Best Burgers in Nashville” by Zagat. I
happened to pass by their suburban location in Lenox and deemed it a “must try”. They offer a gluten free burger bun, but since I was
still so full from dinner the night before, I went “bun-less”. Since my taste buds were in primal training mode, I
felt compelled to order the “Buy the Farm” burger. This was the burger extraordinaire - topped with
smoked Gouda, fried organic egg, red pepper relish, apple wood bacon, lettuce,
tomato and red onion. Nom Nom! And my favorite part - the decor - condiments were
served in old army ammo canisters. Retro-coolness!

Oh how I wish I had one more
breakfast in Nashville! This place is a complete
fun food experience, where YOU are the chef and get to make your own pancakes
right on your very own table griddle. The
have separate dedicated griddles for us gluten free folks and also package
& sell their own pancake batter. “White.
Wheat or Gluten Free?” I love it.

*Sidenote - did you know that
the Gaylord Opryland Hotel is Certified Gluten Free in ALL their restaurants?
Wow!

.

Author of Blog

Welcome to Allergy Free Back Roads where we travel the U.S.A. setting up events for allergen-free living. On most trips, my teenage daughter, Erin a.k.a. "Doodle", comes along with me. We have been planning these events since Erin was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2008.

We live in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, in the heart of Appalachia - But, you never know where we will end up next. I hope you will find motivation, perseverance, and a dose of humor thrown in while relating to our adventures as we travel; experiencing different cultures, allergen-free foods, and finding commonality in community.

The opinions and articles written here are my own and not paid for by the companies reviewed.